Senate Bill No. 626
(By Senator Prezioso)
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[Introduced February 17, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to repeal section twenty-one, article nine, chapter nine of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,
twelve, thirteen, fourteen, sixteen and nineteen of said
article, all relating to the "West Virginia Works Act";
repealing rainy day fund; amending short title throughout
article; revising legislative findings and purpose;
eliminating performance-based measures for evaluating the
program; redefining terms; striking out provision that the
secretary shall ensure availability of support services to
help meet program's requirements; reducing period of exemption
from work requirement for beneficiaries with newborn children;
requiring beneficiaries to participate in family assessments;
providing that personal responsibility contract is defined by time limits, availability of support services, program work
requirements and family assessments; eliminating consideration
of participants' challenges in meeting program requirements
for purposes of the personal responsibility contract; deleting
guidelines for developing individualized personal
responsibility contracts and authorizing secretary to define
contracts by rule instead; retaining cash incentive for
married beneficiaries; reducing child support pass-through by
fifty percent; providing sanctions for breach of contract by
beneficiary; providing for reduction of benefits rather than
revocation; providing for good cause exceptions to imposition
of sanctions; reducing the period of benefit termination;
reducing the period for obtaining diversionary assistance; and
deleting provision that at-risk families may retain a portion
of cash assistance when earnings are below the federal poverty
guideline.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-one, article nine, chapter nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that sections one, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen,
fourteen, sixteen and nineteen of said article be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. WV WORKS ACT.
§9-9-1. Short title.
This article may be cited as the "WEST VIRGINIA WV WORKS Act".
§9-9-2. Legislative findings; purpose.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
(1) The entitlement of any person to receive federal-state
cash assistance is hereby discontinued;
(2) At-risk families are capable of becoming self-supporting;
(3) A reformed An assistance program should both expect and
assist a parent and caretaker-relatives in at-risk families to
support their dependent children and children for which they are
caretakers;
(4) Every parent or caretaker-relative can exhibit responsible
patterns of behavior so as to be a positive role model;
(5) Every parent or caretaker-relative who receives cash
assistance has a responsibility to participate in an activity to
help them prepare for, obtain and maintain gainful employment;
(6) For a parent or caretaker-relative who receives cash
assistance and for whom full-time work is not feasible,
participation in some activity is expected required to further
himself or herself, his or her family or his or her community;
(7) The state should promote the value of work and the
capabilities of individuals;
(8) Job development efforts should enhance the employment
opportunities of participants;
(9) Education is the key to achieving and maintaining
life-long self-sufficiency; and
(10) A reformed An assistance program should be structured to
achieve a clear set of outcomes; deliver services in an expedient,
effective and efficient manner; and maximize community support for
participants. After five years, there is expected to be a decrease
in the following: (i) The number of persons receiving public
assistance; and (ii) the amount of time an individual remains on
public assistance.
(b) The goals of the program are to achieve more efficient and
effective use of public assistance funds; reduce dependency on
public programs by promoting self-sufficiency; and structure the
assistance programs to emphasize employment and personal
responsibility. The program is to be evaluated on the increase in
employment rates in the program areas; the completion of
educational and training programs; the increased compliance in
preventive health activities, including immunizations; and a
decrease in the case-load of the department.
§9-9-3. Definitions.
In addition to the rules for the construction of statutes in
section ten, article two, chapter two of this code and the words
and terms defined in section two, article one of this chapter,
unless a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "At-risk family" means a group of persons living in the
same household, living below the federally designated poverty
level, lacking the resources to become self-supporting and
consisting of a dependent minor child or children living with a parent, stepparent or caretaker-relative; an "at-risk family" may
include an unmarried minor parent and his or her dependent child or
children who live in an adult-supervised setting;
(b) "Beneficiary" or "participant" means any parent or
caretaker-relative in an at-risk family who receives cash
assistance for himself or herself and family members;
(c) "Cash assistance" means temporary assistance for needy
families;
(d) "Challenge" means any fact, circumstance or situation that
prevents a person from becoming self-sufficient or from seeking,
obtaining or maintaining employment of any kind, including physical
or mental disabilities, lack of education, testing, training,
counseling, child care arrangements, transportation, medical
treatment or substance abuse treatment;
(e) "Community or personal development" means activities
designed or intended to eliminate challenges to participation in
self-sufficiency activities. These activities are to provide
community benefit and enhance personal responsibility, including,
but not limited to, classes or counseling for learning life skills
or parenting, dependent care, job readiness, volunteer work,
participation in sheltered workshops or substance abuse treatment;
(f) "Department" means the state department of health and
human resources;
(g) "Education and training" means any hours spent regularly
attending and preparing for classes in any approved course of schooling or training; including job training, high school
equivalency, literacy, English as a second language or vocational
or post-secondary program, including two-year and four-year
programs;
(h) "Income" means money received by any member of an at-risk
family which can be used at the discretion of the household to meet
its basic needs: Provided, That income does not include:
(1) Supplemental security income paid to any member or members
of the at-risk family;
(2) Earnings of minor children;
(3) Payments received from earned income tax credit or tax
refunds;
(4) Earnings deposited in an individual development account
approved by the department; or
(5) Any educational grant or scholarship income regardless of
source; or
(5) (6) Any moneys specifically excluded from countable income
by federal law;
(i) "Personal responsibility contract" means a written
agreement entered into by the department and a beneficiary which
establishes the responsibilities and obligations of the beneficiary
for purposes of participation in the WV works program;
(j) "Secretary" means the secretary of the state department of
health and human resources;
(k) "Subsidized employment" means employment with earnings provided by an employer who receives a subsidy from the department
for the creation and maintenance of the employment position;
(l) "Support services" includes, but is not limited to, the
following services: Child care; medicaid; transportation
assistance; information and referral; resource development services
which includes assisting families to receive child support
enforcement and supplemental security income; family support
services which includes parenting, budgeting and family planning;
relocation assistance; and mentoring services;
(m) "Unsubsidized employment" means employment with earnings
provided by an employer who does not receive a subsidy from the
department for the creation and maintenance of the employment
position;
(n) "Work" means unsubsidized employment, subsidized
employment, work experience, community or personal development and
education and training; and
(o) "Work experience" means unpaid structured work activities
that are provided in an environment where performance expectations
are similar to those existing in unsubsidized employment and which
provide training in occupational areas that can realistically be
expected to lead to unsubsidized employment.
§9-9-4. Authorization for program.
(a) The secretary shall conduct the West Virginia works WV
works program in accordance with this article and any applicable
regulations promulgated by the secretary of the federal department of health and human services in accordance with federal block-grant
funding or similar federal funding stream. This program shall be
implemented to replace welfare assistance programs for at-risk
families in accordance with this article and within federal
requirements; to coordinate the transfer of all applicable state
programs into the temporary assistance to needy families West
Virginia works program; to expend only the funds appropriated by
the Legislature to establish and operate the program or any other
funds available to the program; pursuant to any other p
rovisions of
the code or rules; to establish administrative due process
procedures for revocation reduction or termination proceedings; and
to implement any other procedures necessary to accomplish the
purpose of this article.
(b) The West Virginia works WV works program authorized
pursuant to this act article does not create an entitlement to that
program or any services offered within that program, unless
entitlement is created pursuant to a federal law or regulation.
The West Virginia works WV works program and each component of that
program established by this act article or the expansion of any
component established pursuant to federal law or regulation is
subject to the annual appropriation of funds by the Legislature.
(c) Copies of all rules proposed pursuant to authority granted
in this article by the secretary shall also be filed with the
legislative oversight commission on health and human resources
accountability established pursuant to article twenty-nine-e, chapter sixteen of this code.
§9-9-5. WV works program fund.
There is hereby continued a special account within the state
treasury to be known as the "West Virginia Works WV works Program
Fund". Expenditures from the fund shall be used exclusively to
meet the necessary expenditures of the program, including wage
reimbursements to participating employers, temporary assistance to
needy families, payments for support services, employment-related
child care payments, transportation expenses and administrative
costs directly associated with the operation of the program.
Moneys paid into the account shall be from specific annual
appropriations of funds by the Legislature.
§9-9-6. Program participation.
(a) Unless otherwise noted in this article, all adult
recipients beneficiaries of cash assistance shall participate in
the West Virginia works WV works program in accordance with the
provisions of this article. The level of participation, services
to be delivered and work requirements shall be defined within the
terms of the personal responsibility contract and through rules
established by the secretary.
(b) To the extent funding permits, Any individual exempt under
the provisions of section eight of this article may participate in
the activities and programs offered through the West Virginia works
WV works program.
(c) Support services other than cash assistance through the works WV works program may be provided to at-risk families to
assist in meeting the work requirements or to eliminate the need
for cash assistance.
(d) Cash assistance through the works WV works program may be
provided to an at-risk family if the combined family income, as
defined in subsection (h), section three of this article, is below
the income and asset test levels established by the department:
Provided, That any adult member of an at-risk family who receives
supplemental security income shall be excluded from the benefit
group: Provided, however, That, within the limits of funds
appropriated therefor, an at-risk family that includes a married
man and woman and dependent children of either one or both may
receive an additional cash assistance benefit in the an amount of
one hundred dollars or less: Provided further, That an at-risk
family shall receive an additional cash assistance benefit in the
amount of fifty twenty-five dollars regardless of the amount of
child support collected in a month on behalf of a child or children
of the at-risk family, as allowed by federal law.
§9-9-7. Work requirements.
(a) Unless otherwise exempted by the provisions of section
eight of this article, the West Virginia works WV works program
shall require that anyone who possesses a high school diploma, or
its equivalent, or anyone who is of the age of twenty years or
more, to work or attend an educational or training program for at
least the minimum number of hours per week required by federal law under the work participation rate requirements for all families in
order to receive any form of cash assistance. Participation in any
education or training activity, as defined in section three of this
article, shall be counted toward satisfaction of the work
requirement imposed by this section to the extent permissible under
federal law and regulation: Provided, That
the participant
demonstrates adequate progress toward completion of the program:
Provided, however, That participants who are enrolled in
post-secondary courses leading to a two- or four-year degree may be
required to engage in no more than ten hours per week of federally
defined work activities, unless the department certifies that
allowing education to count toward
required work activities would
affect the state's ability to meet federal work participation
rates. In accordance with federal law or regulation, the work,
education and training requirements of this section are waived for
any qualifying participant with a child under six years of age if
the participant is unable to obtain appropriate and available child
care services. In order for any participant to receive cash
assistance, he or she shall enter into a personal responsibility
contract pursuant to the provisions of section nine of this
article.
(b) The department and representatives of all college and
university systems of West Virginia shall develop and implement a
plan to utilize and expand the programs available at the state's
community and technical colleges, colleges and universities to assist beneficiaries or participants who are enrolled or wish to
become enrolled in two and four-year degree programs of
post-secondary education to meet the work requirements of this
section.
(c) The secretary shall ensure that all necessary support
services are made available to participants in order to assist them
in meeting the work requirement imposed by this section, including
participation in education and training programs.
§9-9-8. Exemptions.
Participants exempt from the work requirements of the works
program pursuant to the provisions of this section nevertheless are
required to enter into a personal responsibility contract. The
secretary shall establish by rule categories of persons exempt, but
the exemption applies only from to the work requirements of the
program: Provided, That a person who is exempt from the work
requirements may nevertheless participate voluntarily in work
activities. The categories of exemption shall include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(a) A parent caring for a dependent child with a
life-threatening illness;
(b) Individuals over the age of sixty years;
(c) Full-time students who are less than twenty years of age
and are pursuing a high school diploma or its equivalent;
(d) Persons with a physical or mental incapacity or persons
suffering from a temporary debilitating injury lasting more than
thirty days, as defined by the secretary;
(e) Relatives providing in-home care for an individual who
would otherwise be institutionalized; and
(f) Any female beneficiary who is eighteen years of age or
older, for a period of twelve months upon the birth of her first
child while receiving cash assistance and has a child in his or her
at-risk family which has not attained twelve months of age, for a
period of three months, and for a period of six three months upon
the birth of any additional child: Provided, That any period of
exemption from the work requirement may include the last trimester
of her pregnancy. That no more than one beneficiary in an at-risk
family may be exempt at the same time.
§9-9-9. Personal responsibility contract.
(a) (1) Every eligible adult beneficiary shall participate in
a program orientation, and family assessments and in the
development, and subsequent revisions, of a personal responsibility
contract. The contract shall be defined based on the assessed
goals and challenges of the participant: program time limits,
support services available, work requirements and family
assessments.
(1) If the participant has a recent attachment to the work
force, the contract shall include provisions regarding required job search activities, identified support services, level of benefits
requested and time limitation.
(2) If the participant does not have a recent attachment to
the work force, the contract shall identify the evaluation or
testing activities, or job training activities necessary prior to
job search activities, identified support services, benefits
requested and time limitation.
(3) If it is determined that the participant is not able to
obtain or maintain gainful employment, the contract shall contain
appropriate provisions defining the activities that benefit the
participant, his or her family or his or her community.
(4) (2) The participant's contract shall include the following
requirements: That the participant develop and maintain, with the
appropriate health care provider, a schedule of preventive care for
his or her dependent child or children, including routine
examinations and immunizations; assurance of school attendance for
school-age children under his or her care; assurance of properly
supervised child care, including after-school care; and
establishment of paternity or active pursuit of child support, or
both, if applicable and if considered necessary; and nutrition or
other counseling, parenting or family-planning classes.
(5) If the participant must overcome challenges prior to
employment, the contract shall include a list of the identified
challenges and an individualized plan for overcoming them.
(6) (3) If the participant is a teenage parent, he or she may
work, but the contract shall include the requirements that the
participant:
(A) Remain in an educational activity to complete high school,
obtain a general equivalency diploma or obtain vocational training
and make satisfactory scholastic progress;
(B) Attend parenting classes or participate in a mentorship
program, or both, if appropriate; and
(C) Live at home with his or her parent or guardian or in some
other adult-supervised arrangements if he or she is an
unemancipated minor.
(4) If the participant is under the age of twenty years and
does not have a high school diploma or its equivalent, the contract
shall include requirements to participate in mandatory education or
training which, if the participant is unemployed, may include a
return to high school, with satisfactory scholastic progress
required.
(b) In order to receive cash assistance, the participant shall
enter into a personal responsibility contract. If the participant
refuses to sign the personal responsibility contract, the
participant and family members are ineligible to receive cash
assistance: Provided, That a participant who alleges that the
terms of a personal responsibility contract are inappropriate based
on his or her individual circumstances may request and shall be
provided a fair and impartial hearing in accordance with administrative procedures established by the department and due
process of law. A participant who signs a personal responsibility
contract or complies with a personal responsibility contract does
not waive his or her right to request and receive a hearing under
this subsection.
(c) Personal responsibility contracts shall be drafted by the
department on a case-by-case basis; take into consideration the
individual circumstances of each beneficiary; reviewed and
reevaluated periodically, but not less than on an annual basis;
and, in the discretion of the department, amended or extended on a
periodic basis.
§9-9-10. Participation limitation; exceptions.
The length of time a participant may receive cash assistance
through the West Virginia works WV works program shall be defined
in the personal responsibility contract: Provided, That no
participant may receive benefits for may not exceed a period longer
than sixty months, except in circumstances as defined by the
secretary.
§9-9-11. Breach of contract; notice; sanctions.
(a) The department may refuse to extend or renew a personal
responsibility contract and the benefits received by the
beneficiary, or may terminate an existing contract and benefits,
terminate cash assistance benefits to an at-risk family if it finds
any of the following:
(1) Fraud or deception by the beneficiary in applying for or
receiving program benefits;
(2) A substantial breach by the beneficiary of the
requirements and obligations set forth in the personal
responsibility contract, any amendments or addenda thereto; or
(3) A violation by the beneficiary of any provision of the
personal responsibility contract, any amendments or addenda
thereto, this article, or any rule promulgated by the secretary
pursuant to this article.
(b) In the event the department determines that a personal
responsibility contract or the benefits received by the beneficiary
are subject to revocation reduction or termination, written notice
of the revocation reduction or termination and the reason for the
revocation or termination therefor shall be deposited in the United
States mail, postage prepaid and addressed to the beneficiary at
his or her last known address at least thirteen days prior to the
termination or revocation reduction. The notice shall state the
action being taken by the department and grant to the beneficiary
a reasonable opportunity to be heard at a fair and impartial
hearing before the department in accordance with administrative
procedures established by the department and due process of law.
(c) In any hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of
this section, the beneficiary has the burden of proving that his or
her benefits were improperly reduced or terminated and shall bear
his or her own costs, including attorneys fees.
(d) The secretary shall determine by rule what constitutes de
minimis violations and those violations subject to sanctions and
maximum penalties. In the event the department finds that a
beneficiary has violated any provision of this article, of his or
her personal responsibility contract or any amendment or addenda
thereto, or any applicable department rule, the department shall
impose sanctions against the beneficiary as follows:
(1) For the first violation, a one-third reduction of benefits
for three months;
(2) For the a second violation, a two-thirds reduction of
benefits for three months; and
(3) For the a third or subsequent violation, a total
termination of benefits for a minimum period of six three months.
(e) For any sanction imposed pursuant to subsection (d) of
this section, if the beneficiary corrects the violation or
otherwise comes into compliance within thirteen days of the date of
the notice of the sanction is found to have good cause for
noncompliance, as defined by the secretary, the reduction or
termination in benefits shall not be imposed but and the violation
shall not count in determining the level of sanction to be imposed
for any future violation. Once a reduction in benefits is in
effect, it shall remain in effect for the designated time period:
Provided, That if a participant incurs a subsequent sanction before
the sanction for a previous violation has expired, the sanctions
shall run concurrently: Provided, however, That if a third violation occurs before the period for a previous sanction has
expired, benefits shall be terminated and may not be reinstated
until the six-month three-month termination period has expired. and
the violation which resulted in the third sanction has been either
corrected or excused.
§9-9-12. Diversionary assistance allowance in lieu of monthly cash
assistance.
(a) In order to encourage at-risk families not to apply for
ongoing monthly cash assistance from the state, the secretary may
issue one-time diversionary assistance allowances to families in an
amount not to exceed the equivalent of four three months of cash
assistance in order to enable the families to become immediately
self-supporting.
(b) The secretary shall establish by rule the standards to be
considered in making diversionary assistance allowances.
(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to require that
the department or any assistance issued pursuant to this section be
subject to any of the provisions of chapter thirty-one or chapter
forty-six-a of this code.
§9-9-13. Subsidized employment.
(a) To the extent that resources are available, an employer
may be paid a subsidy by the department to employ a parent or
caretaker-relative of an at-risk family if the employer agrees to
hire the works WV works program participant at the end of the
subsidized period. If the employer does not hire the participant at the end of the subsidized period, the program shall may not use
that employer for subsidized employment for the next twelve months.
(b) If the department determines that an employer has
demonstrated a pattern of discharging employees hired pursuant to
the provisions of this section subsequent to the expiration of the
subsidized period without good cause, the employer shall no longer
be eligible for participation in the subsidized employment program
for a period to be determined by the department.
§9-9-14. Transitional assistance.
The West Virginia works WV works program may provide
transitional assistance in the form of supportive services. and
allow at-risk families to retain a portion of their cash assistance
when their earnings are below the federal poverty guideline, if
considered appropriate by the secretary.
§9-9-16. Intergovernmental coordination.
(a) The commissioner of the bureau of employment programs and
the superintendent of the department of education shall assist the
secretary in the establishment of the West Virginia works WV works
program. Prior to before implementation of this program, each
department shall address in its respective plan the method in which
its resources will be devoted to facilitate the identification of
or delivery of services for participants and shall coordinate its
respective programs with the department in the provision of
services to participants and their families. Each county board of
education shall designate a person to coordinate with the local department of health and human resources office the board's
services to participant families and that person shall work to
achieve coordination at the local level.
(b) The secretary and the superintendent shall develop a plan
for program implementation to occur with the use of existing state
facilities and county transportation systems within the project
areas whenever practicable. This agreement shall include, but not
be limited to, the use of buildings, grounds and buses. Whenever
possible, the supportive services, education and training programs
should be offered at the existing school facilities.
(c) The commissioner shall give priority to participants of
the works WV works program within the various programs of the
bureau of employment programs. The secretary and the commissioner
shall develop reporting and monitoring mechanisms between their
respective agencies.
§9-9-19. Legislative oversight.
The legislative oversight commission on health and human
resources accountability is charged with immediate and ongoing
oversight of the program created by this article. This commission
shall study, review and examine the work of the program, the
department and its staff; study, review and examine all rules
proposed by the department; and monitor the development and
implementation of the West Virginia works WV works program. The
commission shall review and make recommendations to the Legislature
and the legislative rule-making review committee regarding any plan, policy or rule proposed by the secretary, the department or
the program.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the "WEST
VIRGINIA WORKS Act." It repeals the program's rainy day fund and
deletes obsolete provisions. It renames the assistance program
throughout as WV WORKS; revises legislative findings and purpose;
deletes performance based measurements; redefines terms; limits
government assurances of certain types of assistance; reduces the
work requirement exemption for parents with a newborn; requires
family assessments; revises criteria used to develop personal
responsibility contracts; authorizes the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Resources to establish personal
responsibility contract provisions by rule; reduces the child
support pass-through from $50 per month to $25 per month; provides
good cause exception to program sanctions; reduces the period of
benefit termination; reduces the period for which diversionary
assistance is available; and deletes provision that at-risk
families may retain a portion of their cash assistance when their
earnings fall below the federal poverty guideline.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)